Day 296 - Saturday 21 October - Grand Pacific Drive Part 1

Day 296

Saturday  -

21 October –

Corrimal Beach – Wollongong – Shellharbour – Kiama – Shoalhaven Heads – Nowra – Gerroa

What a difference a day makes! After not doing much yesterday I was bright eyed and bushy tailed by the time I woke at 7am and when I went off to the loo the bring sun and blue sky greeted me. There was still a slight breeze and it was cool, but we weren’t going to be hampered when we got into our planned activities.

I didn’t last in bed for long afterward, I was out and off having my shower by 7.45am and back ready to get into it. By 9am we were in the car and heading into Wollongong following the Grand Pacific Drive. We have opted to do this in two parts, today, south of Wollongong to Nowra and tomorrow north, to Stanwell Park.

We parked up along the waterfront near Flagstaff Hill and went for a walk. It was quite busy as there was a beach netball tournament going on. We made our way around the wharf area and up to the lighthouse where we could check the view both north and south. South looks out over Port Kembla, not a particularly pretty sight as the steel works are busy pumping out plenty of pollutants into the atmosphere.

 

We watched skydivers float through the sky, a bi-plane doing tricks and some young kids doing their best Cher impersonation, as they straddled the old guns. We completed the loop walk and returned to the car ready to move on to Shellbarbour. We followed the brown sign indicating the driving route, passing through Port Kembla before arriving at our next beachside destination. We located a free bay on the water and proceeded to walk along the front to check out the view and then ducked back into the town and up the main street.

Once back at the car, we continued to meander south heading for the larger tourist destination of Kiama.

We found a spot to stop amongst some old shops and began our trek. I spoke to Brad as we walked. His four-week stint at home now done and he was stuck back at work. We had a good catch up on where we have both been and what we have seen and done.

When we were finished chatting, I followed Paul to the bakery so he could grab a pie and then we followed the signage towards the Kiama blowholes. We path lead us along the front for a great view over the bay before rounding the rocky point that was home to the blowholes. The terrain was a bit surface of the moon like and there were plenty of people clambering over it all.

We took in a view of the waves crashing in before finding a spot to check out the blowholes, for a change we actually experienced some action. There was some roaring noise as the water pushed through the gap and spray that lifted a fair height as well.

We continued to follow the path, checking out the lighthouse, before returning to the car via the main street. Once in, we plugged in Shoalhaven Heads and made our way further south. I contacted HopDog brewery, as we drove, to let them know we would be there to see them today.

I watched green, rolling hills pass us by with plenty of cows enjoying the view. We drove through the towns of Gerringong and Gerroa, which both looked pretty and I figured we could stop in on our way home. We then ducked off the tourist road to head into Shoalhaven Heads, a small seaside spot on the edge of Shoalhaven River.

We parked near picnic tables, took our lunch and sat and enjoyed the tranquillity as we ate. It was very peaceful here and away from the hustle and bustle of Kiama. We watched the comings and going of various birds, thankful there were no kookaburras about to steal our lunch!

We did a lap of the town before heading on to our final stop, Nowra. 10min short, I had a reply from HopDog to say they were closed for a private function. Paul was disappointed, but at least it wasn’t the only reason we were heading to the town. We navigated to the centre, instead of the brewery, parked and walked the main strip. There wasn’t much to see, so we moved on to Hanging Rock Lookout.

We checked out the view over the Nowra River before following the signs to Ben’s Walk and descending the rock stairs down the cliff and into the bush. We passed through a small rock chasm as we followed the path downhill, where we had a view of Hanging Rock from below.

We watched fishermen out on the river and then continued our walk. We disturbed a monitor lizard that took to the trees and then proceeded to hiss at us as we stood watching it.

Our walk took us to a swing bridge that crossed the Nowra Creek and gave us a great view across the water and back into the bush. We could see fish swimming about and I am sure Paul would have enjoyed throwing in a line.

We made our way back up the hill that was far easier than the way we had started the walk. It was still reasonably early, so we were able to follow the Grand Pacific Drive back towards Gerroa. We left the drive to follow the sign stating Kingsfordsmith Lookout, it was the only sign we found but we think we reached the intended destination, Black Head Reserve. After parking, we took off on foot checking the view from a few different vantage points. I could see why it was called Black Head, as flat, black rock stretched out from the coast.

We moved down the road where I could check out the swimming beach and Crooked Creek that emptied into the Pacific Ocean and then it was back on the road and heading home.

3.30pm and we were back at home, bathed in sunlight and ready to sit back and enjoy some down time. I made my way through the photos for the day and then we wandered over to the camp kitchen to watch the NBL on the big TV, unfortunately it wasn’t Perth, but Adelaide and Sydney.

I continued working on computer things as we watched the game. It was far from a good spectacle of basketball as Sydney was absolutely atrocious and their poor performance made Adelaide look good and they were really far from it.

We cooked dinner in the kitchen eating and watching the game until it was finally all over at 7.30pm and we returned to the van. We sat around chatting before finally deciding it was time to head to bed where we continued to read our books before lights out.